Getting the ‘best’ from Sensory Processing: – Eavesdropping on a Giant Synapse and its Target

My laboratory is interested in synaptic transmission and the mechanisms by which synaptic activity can regulate neuronal excitability. I will introduce the basic physiology of the auditory brainstem and synaptic transmission at the giant synapse - called the calyx of Held. We will consider the roles of specific voltage-gated potassium channels in controlling neuronal excitability and the mechanisms by which the synapse can control the excitability of the target neuron through nitric oxide (NO) signalling and volume transmission. This pathway switches the basis of action potential repolarization and mediates a form of neuronal intrinsic plasticity, which acts via increasing activation of Kv2 voltage-gated potassium channels in both the auditory brainstem and the hippocampus.